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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–November 23

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This is a great day for names:

Chief Zimmer (1860)
Hi Church (1863)
Socks Seybold (1870)
George Stovall (1877)
Jimmy Sheckard (1878)
Runt Marr (1891)
Freddy Leach (1897)
Beans Reardon (1897)
Bubber Jonnard (1897)
Roy Parnell (1903)
Prince Hal Schumacher (1910)
Bill Gates (1918)
Charles Osgood (1926)
John Anderson (1929)
Jack McKeon (1930)
Luis Tiant (1940)
Tom Hall (1947)
Ken Schrom (1954)
Brook Jacoby (1959)
Dale Sveum (1963)
David McCarty (1969)
Adam Eaton (1977)
Jonathan Papelbon (1980)
Justin Turner (1984)
Lewis Thorpe (1995)

Runt Marr played in the minor leagues for nineteen years, managed in the minors for fifteen years, and was also a scout for many years.

Beans Reardon was a National League umpire from 1926-1949.

Bubber Jonnard was a long-time coach and scout.

Bill Gates was a minor league pitcher from 1938-1940 and 1946-1951.

Jack McKeon was a long-time manager and general manager, leading the Florida Marlins to a World Series victory in 2003.  In 2011, he became the second-oldest manager in major league history at age 80.  He also managed in the minor leagues for the Senators/Twins from 1957-64 and again in 1968, scouting for the Twins from 1965-67.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 23 →

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–November 23

This is a great day for names:

Chief Zimmer (1860)
Hi Church (1863)
Socks Seybold (1870)
George Stovall (1877)
Jimmy Sheckard (1878)
Runt Marr (1891)
Freddy Leach (1897)
Beans Reardon (1897)
Bubber Jonnard (1897)
Prince Hal Schumacher (1910)
Bill Gates (1918)
Charles Osgood (1926)
John Anderson (1929)
Jack McKeon (1930)
Luis Tiant (1940)
Tom Hall (1947)
Ken Schrom (1954)
Brook Jacoby (1959)
Dale Sveum (1963)
David McCarty (1969)
Adam Eaton (1977)
Jonathan Papelbon (1980)
Justin Turner (1984)
Lewis Thorpe (1995)

Runt Marr played in the minor leagues for nineteen years, managed in the minors for fifteen years, and was also a scout for many years.

Beans Reardon was a National League umpire from 1926-1949.

Bubber Jonnard was a long-time coach and scout.

Bill Gates was a minor league pitcher from 1938-1940 and 1946-1951.

Jack McKeon was a long-time manager and general manager, leading the Florida Marlins to a World Series victory in 2003.  In 2011, he became the second-oldest manager in major league history at age 80.  He also managed in the minor leagues for the Senators/Twins from 1957-64 and again in 1968, scouting for the Twins from 1965-67.

The staff of Happy Birthday would like to wish everyone a happy and blessed Thanksgiving.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 23 →

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–November 23

This is a great day for names:

Chief Zimmer (1860)
Hi Church (1863)
Socks Seybold (1870)
George Stovall (1877)
Jimmy Sheckard (1878)
Runt Marr (1891)
Freddy Leach (1897)
Beans Reardon (1897)
Bubber Jonnard (1897)
Prince Hal Schumacher (1910)
Bill Gates (1918)
Charles Osgood (1926)
John Anderson (1929)
Jack McKeon (1930)
Luis Tiant (1940)
Tom Hall (1947)
Ken Schrom (1954)
Brook Jacoby (1959)
Dale Sveum (1963)
David McCarty (1969)
Adam Eaton (1977)
Jonathan Papelbon (1980)
Justin Turner (1984)
Lewis Thorpe (1995)

Runt Marr played in the minor leagues for nineteen years, managed in the minors for fifteen years, and was also a scout for many years.

Beans Reardon was a National League umpire from 1926-1949.

Bubber Jonnard was a long-time coach and scout.

Bill Gates was a minor league pitcher from 1938-1940 and 1946-1951.

Jack McKeon was a long-time manager and general manager, leading the Florida Marlins to a World Series victory in 2003.  In 2011, he became the second-oldest manager in major league history at age 80.  He also managed in the minor leagues for the Senators/Twins from 1957-64 and again in 1968, scouting for the Twins from 1965-67.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–November 23 →

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: ALCS Game Two

BALTIMORE 11, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, October 4.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his second) and a walk.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a home run.

Pitching star:  Stan Williams pitched three perfect innings and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Mark Belanger was 3-for-4 with a walk and three runs.  Boog Powell was 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs.  Dave McNally was 2-for-5 with a double.  Frank Robinson was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, two walks, and two runs.  Dave Johnson was 1-for-5 with a three-run homer.  McNally also pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on six hits and five walks and striking out five.

The game:  Belanger and Paul Blair opened the game by drawing walks.  With one out Powell hit an RBI double, giving the Orioles a 1-0 lead.  It went to 3-0 in the third when Belanger singled and Robinson hit a two-run homer.  In the fourth Andy Etchebarren reached second on a single-plus-error and scored on McNally's single, making it 4-0 Baltimore.

The Twins got back into the game in the bottom of the fourth.  Leo Cardenas walked and Killebrew hit a two-run homer followed by a solo homer by Oliva, cutting the margin to 4-3.  But there it stayed until the ninth.  The Twins missed a chance in the fifth.  Williams drew a one-out walk and went to second on a Cesar Tovar single.  Cardenas followed with another single, but Williams was thrown out at the plate.  They had another chance in the sixth when George Mitterwald hit a two-out double, but an infield out ended the inning.

The Orioles broke it open in the ninth, scoring seven runs.  McNally led off with a double and Belanger singled him to third.  A one-out walk to Robinson loaded the bases.  Powell then hit a two-run double, Merv Rettenmund followed with an RBI single, an error brought home a fourth run, and Johnson capped the inning with a three-run homer.  It was 11-3, and that would be the final score.

WP:  McNally (1-0).

LP:  Tom Hall (0-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rick Renick was at third base, with Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese out of the lineup.  Danny Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Bob Allison pinch-hit for Williams in the seventh.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Brant Alyea in the eighth inning and stayed in the game in center field, with Tovar moving to left.  Frank Quilici pinch-hit for Luis Tiant in the ninth.

Hall pitched 3.1 innings, allowing four runs on six hits and three walks and striking out four.

Hall had pitched very well down the stretch, but the fact that he was the number two starter showed how injuries hurt the Twins starting rotation.  Dave Boswell was unavailable and Tiant might as well have been, being used in mop-up relief.  Bert Blyleven would not have been a bad choice, but he was even younger than Hall (age 20 versus age 22) and Hall had really pitched better.  Jim Kaat would've been another choice, but perhaps Bill Rigney wanted to start Hall at home, where he might be less nervous, then to make him deal with a road crowd.  I haven't looked ahead, and don't remember, who started game three.  We'll see tomorrow.

I guess I didn't need to worry about Williams being overused in game one, as he threw three more perfect innings in game two.  The ninth-inning runs came mostly off of Ron Perranoski, who was in his second inning of work after pitching a perfect inning the day before.

The Twins had now played five ALCS games against Baltimore and lost all five.  They were now facing an elimination game in Baltimore.

Record:  The Twins trailed the best-of-five series, 0-2.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-one

MINNESOTA 6, OAKLAND 1 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Thursday, September 10.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5 with a double, a stolen base (his twenty-ninth), and three runs.  Brant Alyea was 2-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base, his third.  Charlie Manuel was 1-for-1 with two RBIs.

Pitching star:  Tom Hall struck out eleven in a complete game, giving up one run on seven hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Joe Rudi was 3-for-4 with a double.  Bob Locker pitched three innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits and two walks and striking out one.

The game:  Each team put two on with one out in the first and did not score.  In the third Tovar led off with a single, stole second, was bunted to third, and scored on a Tony Oliva double.  Harmon Killebrew walked, a force out put men on first and third, Alyea delivered an RBI single, George Mitterwald walked to load the bases, and Manuel delivered a pinch-hit two-run single to give the Twins a 4-0 lead.

The Athletics got one back in the fourth when Sal Bando doubled and scored on a two-out single by Dick Green.  But there the score stayed until the sixth, when Tovar doubled and scored on an error.  The Twins scored one more in the eighth when Tovar singled and scored on a Leo Cardenas double.  Oakland only once got a man as far as second base after the fourth inning.

WP:  Hall (8-6).

LP:  Catfish Hunter (16-13).

S:  None.

Notes:  Frank Quilici started at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Manuel pinch-hit for Quilici in the third inning, with Danny Thompson taking over at second base.  Jim Holt went to center field in the seventh, with Tovar moving to left and Alyea coming out of the game.

Oliva was 1-for-3 and was batting .318.  Alyea raised his average to .300 for the first time since May 17.  Hall had an ERA of 2.53.

This has been referenced, but I just want to point out the move of Bill Rigney in the third inning.  With the Twins lead 2-0 and the bases loaded, Manuel was sent up to pinch-hit for Quilici.  You  would not expect a pinch-hitter for the eighth-place batter that early in the game.  I suspect Rigney sensed a chance to put the game away early and decided to go for it.  It worked, as Manuel delivered a two-run single to put the Twins up 4-0.

This was Hall's only complete game in eleven starts in 1970.  He'd had five in 1969.  He would have only one more in his career, with Cincinnati in 1972.  But then, he would make only thirty-four more starts after 1970, and never more than eleven in a season.  He spent most of the rest of his career in the bullpen.

The Twins had won seven of eight and nine of eleven.

Hunter lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and four walks and striking out two.

In the matchup between the first and second place teams, and in a series Oakland desperately needed to win to stay in the race, the Twins had taken the first two games.  The Athletics would try to salvage at least one game of the series in game two of the doubleheader.

Record:  The Twins were 85-56, in first place in the American League West, 7.5 games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-six

MINNESOTA 3, CALIFORNIA 1 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Sunday, September 6.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  George Mitterwald was 2-for-3 with a double.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with a home run (his tenth), a double, and three RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall pitched eight innings, giving up one run on four hits and one walk and striking out six.  Ron Perranoski pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition star:  Clyde Wright pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out six.

The game:  Neither team had a baserunner for the first two innings.  That changed in the third when Rich Reese walked and Tovar hit a two-out two-run homer to make it 2-0 Twins.

The Angels got their first hit in the third, when Joe Azcue singled.  They had their first threat in the fourth when, with one out, Jim Fregosi singled and Alex Johnson doubled, sending Fregosi to third.  But Ken McMullen fanned and Tommie Reynolds bounced back to the pitcher.  It would be their only threat until the ninth inning.

The Twins picked up a run in the seventh on doubles by Mitterwald and Tovar.  California did not have a baserunner in innings five through eight.  In the ninth Sandy Alomar walked and Jarvis Tatum singled, putting men on first and second with none out, bringing the tying run up to bat.  A pair of ground outs scored a run and left a man on third.  McMullen walked, putting the tying run on base, but Billy Cowan flied to center to end the game.

WP:  Hall (7-6).

LP:  Wright (19-10).

S:  Perranoski (27).

Notes:  Danny Thompson was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Steve Brye pinch-ran for Mitterwald in the seventh, with Tom Tischinski going in to catch.  Jim Holt went to center field in the seventh, with Tovar moving to left and Brant Alyea going to the bench.  Frank Quilici went to second base in the ninth, with Thompson going to third and Harmon Killebrew coming out of the game.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .317.  Hall had an ERA of 2.65.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.15.

The Twins swept the series between the first and second place teams.  It would be overstating it to say the pennant race was over at this point--the two teams still had four-game series coming up, plus they had to deal with Oakland--but this series obviously went a long way toward clinching the division.

As we've seen, Hall both started and relieved in 1970.  He was excellent in both roles, going 7-1, 2.12, 1.01 WHIP in eleven starts (76.1 innings) and 4-5, 2.96, 4 saves, 1.06 WHIP in 41 relief appearances (79 innings).

This was the best season of Clyde Wright's career.  He went 22-10, 2.83, 1.21 WHIP, made the all-star team, and finished sixth in Cy Young voting.  He was also excellent in 1971 and 1972 and pretty good in 1973.  It fell apart for him after that, but for those four years, he was really good.

The Twins would now have a thirteen-game homestand, hosting Milwaukee, Oakland, and the White Sox for three each before taking on California for four.

Record:  The Twins were  81-55, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of California and Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred One

MINNESOTA 2, MILWAUKEE 1 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Monday, August 3.

Batting stars:  Danny Thompson was 3-for-4 with a double.  Rich Reese was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched eight innings, giving up one run on five hits and no walks and striking out six.  Tom Hall struck out three in a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Jerry McNertney was 2-for-3.  Marty Pattin pitched an eight inning complete game, giving up two runs on seven hits and four walks and striking out five.

The game:  There was no score until the fifth, when Roberto Pena singled, stole second, and scored on McNertney's single.  The Twins tied it in the sixth when Thompson hit a one-out single, Harmon Killebrew drew a two-out walk, and Reese followed with an RBI double.

The Twins wasted George Mitterwald's leadoff double in the seventh.  In the eighth, however, Thompson led off with a double and scored on a Reese two-out RBI single to give the Twins their first lead of the game.  Hall came in to retire the Brewers in the ninth and preserve the victory.

WP:  Perry (16-9).

LP:  Pattin (7-9).

S:  Hall (3).

Notes:  Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Jim Kaat pinch-ran for Mitterwald in the seventh, with Tom Tischinski going in to catch in the eighth.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .326.  Perry was 0-for-2 and was batting .306.  Killebrew was 0-for-2 and was batting .304.  Cesar Tovar was 0-for-4 and was batting .301.  Hall had an ERA of 2.71.

Without going back through the box scores, I couldn't find out how many times Kaat was used as a pinch-runner.  It was more than a few times, however.

It's interesting that Bill Rigney went with Hall to close out a 2-1 game.  First, it's surprising to me that Perry didn't finish the game--he had given up just a single in the seventh and had retired the side in order in the eighth.  Having decided to go to the pen, the choice of Hall was probably influenced by the fact that Ron Perranoski and Stan Williams had each pitched in three consecutive games.  It certainly worked out.

Pattin threw eleven complete games in 1970.  That was only good for tenth in the league.  Mike Cuellar led the league with twenty-one.

Thompson had six multi-hit games in his last seven starts.  He went 14-for-27 in those starts and raised his average from .200 to .282.

Record:  The Twins were 65-36, in first place in the American League West, 7.5 games ahead of California, which had regained second place from Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Ninety-three

BALTIMORE 11, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, July 26.

Batting star:  Jim Perry was 1-for-1 with a home run and a walk.

Pitching star:  Perry pitched six innings, giving up three runs on twelve hits and no walks and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Merv Rettenmund was 3-for-5 with a walk and a stolen base, his fifth.  Dave Johnson was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Brooks Robinson was 2-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch and two runs.  Boog Powell was 2-for-5 with a grand slam (his twenty-fifth homer) and six RBIs.  Mark Belanger was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Elrod Hendricks was 2-for-5.  Dave McNally pitched a complete game, giving up one run on five hits and three walks and striking out five.

The game:  It was close for a while.  In fact, there was no score through four innings.  In the fifth, singles by McNally, Don Buford, and Rettenmund loaded the bases and Powell delivered a two-run single to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead.  Perry homered in the bottom of the fifth to make it 2-1.  Baltimore got the run back in the sixth on singles by Hendricks, Johnson, and Belanger, increasing the lead to 3-1.

The Orioles put it away in the eighth.  Singles by Robinson and Johnson and a walk to McNally loaded the bases with two out.  Buford walked to force in a run.  Dick Woodson then came in to replace Tom Hall.  He walked Rettenmund, forcing in another run, and the Powell hit a grand slam, giving Baltimore a 9-1 lead.

The Orioles tacked on two more in the ninth when Robinson was hit by a pitch, Johnson walked, Belanger had an RBI single, and Buford hit a sacrifice fly.

WP:  McNally (13-7).

LP:  Perry (15-8).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rick Renick was again in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Frank Quilici was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Bob Allison was used as a pinch-hitter for the pitcher.  Danny Thompson replaced Harmon Killebrew at third base in the ninth.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .322.  Killebrew was 0-for-3 and was batting .314.  Cesar Tovar was 0-for-3 and was batting .309.  Hall had an ERA of 2.96.

Allison was 0-for-1 and was batting .167.  Dave Boswell retired the only man he faced and had an ERA of 5.97.

In his last three games (one of them a start), Hall had pitched 9.1 innings and allowed ten runs (nine earned) on nine hits and nine walks while striking out ten.  His ERA went from 2.03 to 2.96.

In his last five games, Steve Barber had pitched 6.2 innings and allowed seven runs on eleven hits and five walks while striking out four.  His ERA went from 2.70 to 4.63.  After this game, he would not pitch for the Twins again until late September.

I don't remember ever doing a game recap before where the same player was the only batting star and the only pitching star.

Record:  The Twins were 60-33, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Eighty-three

BALTIMORE 5, MINNESOTA 1 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Thursday, July 15.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a home run, his twenty-seventh.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Stan Williams pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Mike Cuellar pitched a complete game, giving up one run on nine hits and three walks and striking out four.  Boog Powell was 1-for-2 with a home run (his twenty-fourth), a walk, and two RBIs.

The game:  The Twins had men on second and third with one out in the first, but Cesar Tovar was thrown out at the plate on a grounder to third to end the inning.  The Orioles then scored the game's first run in the bottom of the first when Don Buford singled, went to second on Paul Blair's bunt single, took third on a ground out, and scored on a passed ball.

The Twins had two on with none out in the second, but a double play took them out of the inning.  Baltimore took it to 2-0 in the third when Blair singled, went to third on Frank Robinson's single, and scored on a sacrifice fly.

The Twins got on the board in the sixth when Killebrew homered, but the Orioles came back with three in the bottom of the sixth.  Powell led off the inning with a home run.  Brooks Robinson walked, Dave Johnson reached on an error, and Andy Etchebarren hit a two-run double, making it 5-1 Baltimore.

The Twins did not get a man past first base after that.

WP:  Cuellar (12-5).

LP:  Tom Hall (5-3).

S:  None.

Notes:  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Bob Allison was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Alyea and Rick Renick pinch-hit for pitchers.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Alyea.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Renick.

Killebrew was batting .325.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-3 and was batting .324.  Tovar was 1-for-5 and was batting .313.  Hall gave up four runs (three earned) in five innings and had an ERA of 2.30.  Dick Woodson gave up an unearned run in a third of an inning and had an ERA of 2.63.  Williams had an ERA of 1.39.

Jim Kaat was again used in relief, giving up no runs in two-thirds of an inning.  It's hard to understand why, with a rested bullpen, it was necessary to use Kaat, but there it is.  In fact, I really don't understand why Hall started the first game off the all-star game ahead of Kaat, although I will admit he had a much better ERA.

The Twins stranded nine and were 0-for-5 with men in scoring position.

Record:  The Twins were 54-29, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-nine

MINNESOTA 4, CALIFORNIA 2 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Thursday, July 9.

Batting stars:  Rick Renick was 1-for-2 with a double and two walks.  Leo Cardenas was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his seventh). and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk and striking out five.  Tom Hall struck out five in three perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Jim Spencer was 2-for-3.  Jim Fregosi was 2-for-4.  Rudy May pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and three walks and striking out four.

The game:  The Angels scored two in the first inning.  Sandy Alomar singled, stole second, and scored on a one-out single by Fregosi.  Singles by Alex Johnson and Spencer brought home another run, making it 2-0 California.

The Twins got on the board in the second.  Tony Oliva singled and scored from first on Renick's double, cutting the lead to 2-1.  The Angels opened the fourth with a pair of singles but did not score, so it was still 2-1 until the seventh.  Renick led off with a single and went to second on a ground out, leading to an intentional walk to Cardenas.  Rich Reese then delivered a pinch-hit single, tying the score at two.

It stayed 2-2 until the ninth.  With two out Hall singled and Cardenas followed with a two-run homer, putting the Twins up 4-2.  California did not get a hit after the inning-opening singles in the fourth.

WP:  Hall (5-2).

LP:  Eddie Fisher (3-3).

S:  None.

Notes:  Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .330.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 and was batting .316.  Cesar Tovar was 1-for-4 and was batting .316.  Blyleven had an ERA of 2.45.  Hall had an ERA of 2.11.

The Twins started the game with Jim Perry batting third in the lineup and listed as the left fielder, with Bob Allison at first base.  As the Twins were on the road, Perry was scheduled to be the third batter of the game.  He wasn't, of course--Killebrew pinch-hit for him and stayed in the game at first base, with Allison moving to left.  There must be a story behind that, but I have no idea what it is.

Reese pinch-hit for George Mitterwald and Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for Blyleven in the seventh.  Both stayed in the game, with Reese going to first (moving Killebrew to third, Renick to left field, and Allison leaving the game) and Ratliff going behind the plate.  Herman Hill came in to play center field in the ninth, with Tovar moving to left and Renick leaving the game.

It's interesting that Hall was allowed to bat in the ninth inning of a tie game.  He had pitched two perfect innings, and there were two out and none on, both of which probably affected the decision.  Also, the Twins didn't have a lot of bench players left at this point.  What's even more remarkable is that it paid off, as Hall got a hit in front of Cardenas' home run.  Hall was not a good batter--.161/.191/.172 in 192 career at-bats.  But he came through here.

It's also interesting that Bill Rigney seems to have stopped pulling Killebrew for defense late in games.  Frank Quilici, his usual defensive replacement, was still on the team, and Danny Thompson had taken over second base, so Quilici was still available.  But Killebrew was being allowed to stay in the games.

This was the first of a four-game series with the Angels going into the all-star break.  A sweep would put a lot of space between the Twins and California.  The Twins had won five in a row, ten of eleven, and twelve of fourteen.

Record:  The Twins were 53-26, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of California.